Beans and rice are 2 of the most frugal, versatile staples in the dry goods pantry. Everybody has a version because they have been around forever and were accessible to all. Millions of healthy children have been nourished by this simple fare for generations. In many cases the working classes did not have the money to eat meat, so beans, bone broths, and other plant foods stood in their place. I imagine that this was one of the foods that the kids would wince and say, “Maaam, beans again?!” One way to avoid this is to serve different kinds of beans. You could serve pinto beans in a soup on Monday, and then re-fry them for Wednesday’s lunch, and then make black beans on Thursday, etc. If you want to go Italian or American, try white navy beans or kidney beans and prepare chillies and soups that way.

Can you tell I just got a food mill and am loving the grater feature? I just didn’t know how fast AND delicious food can be with the right gadgets! One can never underestimate the deliciousness of freshly fried potatoes.

Hash Browns – serves 4

1 extra large brown baking potato, rinsed and peeled

4 tbsp. Kerrygold unsalted butter (sold at HEB in cheese section)

salt and pepper to taste

Shred potato with gadget of choice. Melt butter in your largest-bottomed skillet over high heat. Add potatoes and distribute as evenly and thinly as you can without burning your fingers. Season with pepper only. After the potato water has evaporated a bit and things are no longer pretty steamy, reduce the heat to medium. Watch for brown crispy-ness on the other side, that’s when to know to flip. I cut it into quarters at this point and flip the quarters. Watch carefully and add more butter if pan is too dry. Add *sea salt to taste and serve when both sides are evenly golden brown. Serve with eggs and toast or your favorite breakfast!

*You add salt at the end because salt draws out water and you are looking for crisp, not soggy, potatoes. You worked hard to get past the steamy stage!